Hey y’all, I just read an article on how soy can increase estrogen levels in men. Now, I wouldn’t be concerned under normal circumstances but I think I’ll be consuming a lot of Soylent in the future. I’m a meager kid so I was wondering if someone could reaffirm that the percentage of soy in Soylent is in fact safe for males to consume.

…so I was wondering if someone could reaffirm that the percentage of soy in Soylent is in fact safe for males to consume.

Hi dirtydingo,

Good question and one a lot of people will be asking in the near future. Soylent won’t contain soy, per se. It will use soy lecithin as an emulsifier. This is from the Official Soylent Blog:

"Soy Lecithin (6g) - Lecithins, often used in baking, have emulsification properties. Soylent is a colloid that combines substances that are normally immiscible. Emulsifiers like lecithin allow for a homogenous mixture of what would normally separate immediately. Lecithins are a mixture of different fatty substances and choline, and are completely metabolized by the body. While derived from soy, lecithin is completely isolated from proteins and phytoestrogens from the plant and thus is safe for consumption by those with a soy allergy."

That article is a dramatic re-enactment of the ONE person recorded in recent history with that reaction. It has never been observed in anyone else, and he was consuming 3 QUARTS A DAY of soy milk.

##3 Quarts.

For reference, that’s the equivalent of TWELVE cups. Far beyond what any reasonable intake of any food should be.
If you’re a man drinking 12 cups of milk daily, you’ll probably get kidney stones from calcium intake, among other problems.

Currently, research points to keeping intake somewhere below 5 servings a day to both receive the benefits of soy and to avoid any negative side effects.

For soy flour, one serving is 30 g or a quarter cup. So under 150 g a day is considered to be fine and has so far had no observable negative side effects on adults.

There has been some hype and controversy, but without evidence to back it up. It’s easy to demonize something with the right buzz words and by calling on people’s fears. Soy has unfortunately gotten a bad rap with people playing up the supposed estrogenic effects, while often ignoring the health benefits it can provide.

It’s easy to demonize something with the right buzz words and by calling on people’s fears.

How about that dihydrogen monoxide? ( http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html ) If I recall, it almost got banned in a few countries! I’d say this is supporting evidence to a type of buzz word that scares people.